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Rufus Scrimgeour
Minister Rufus Scrimgeour (d. 1 August, 1997) was a British wizard who was a powerful ranking official in the Ministry of Magic. He originally joined the Ministry of Magic as an Auror, where he became a hardened veteran, spending most of his life fighting Dark Wizards. Eventually he rose to become Head of the Auror Office. During the Second Wizarding War, Scrimgeour was appointed in 1996 to succeed Cornelius Fudge as Minister for Magic. While he appeared to provide a much tougher and resolute stance against Lord Voldemort and his Death Eaters, he made the same mistake of creating the appearance of safety and security, while in truth Scrimgeour's efforts were waning in progress in the war. Physical appearance Scrimgeour was a man with a certain rangy loping grace; he walked with a slight limp, and looked rather like an old lion with grey streaks in his mane of tawny hair and bushy eyebrows. He had keen yellowish eyes and wore wire-rimmed spectacles.3 He sometimes used a walking stick.17 With time, the stresses of the failing conflict reached him, and when last seen he appeared badly-shaven, scraggy, and grim. Magical abilities and skills *Auror skills : An accomplished wizard, Rufus Scrimgeour was more than proficient in at least Potions, Defence Against the Dark Arts, Transfiguration, Herbology, and Charms, as all these subjects at Hogwarts are required at both N.E.W.T. and O.W.L. level, at either "Exceeds Expectations" or "Outstanding" level.21 Given his status as Head of the Aurors, his skill presumably surpassed most of the highly trained Dark Wizard capturers working under him, having fought many Dark Wizard and Witches during his career as an Auror, which displayed his considerable duelling and martial magic abilities, the most essential ability to everyone working in his profession.20 Scrimgeour was also noted to have put up a valiant fight against Lord Voldemort,19 though it is unknown if this meant his duelling prowess or resilience to torture, although it was likely a combination of both. *Leadership skills: Scrimgeour obviously had the necessary skills of leadership as the wizarding community together called for Scrimgeour to become Minister for Magic to take control over the Second Wizarding War. He also had to skills to command over the Aurors which would take extreme effort, though he put more effort into getting the cooperation of Albus Dumbledore and Harry Potter instead of focusing on the upcoming war, which would prove to be a mistake that cost him his life. *Charms: Scrimgeour was capable of producing a non-corporeal Patronus Charm,6 a mark of superior magical ability and talent, given the immense difficulty of performing the charm, and further testament to him being a very powerful and skilful wizard indeed with considerable proficiency for charm-work. media Behind the scenes * Luna Lovegood once mentioned to Harry Potter that Scrimgeour was a vampire, a story her father was supposed to publish in the magazine The Quibbler. The authenticity of this claim is quite questionable, as The Quibbler has a reputation for publishing unlikely and outrageous stories. Interestingly, Bill Nighy also played Viktor, a vampire in the Underworld ''series. * It is possible that he is related to Brutus Scrimgeour, the author of the book ''The Beaters' Bible, and a reviewer of the book Quidditch Through the Ages. * Scrimgeour shares the same given name as his predecessor's nephew. * Although stated in the book Scrimgeour sports glasses, in the film he does not — even though Nighy himself does. * In the film adaptations, Scrimgeour's negative personality aspects never come to light in the way and to the extent they do in the book. * Scrimgeour's anti-Death Eater propaganda, particularly the Ministry's attitude towards Stan Shunpike, is similar to Senator Joseph McCarthy's anti-communist ideas during the Second Red Scare in the 1950s. * In the books, Scrimgeour protects Harry's whereabouts when the Ministry has fallen. This shows his protection of Harry, even though he has argued with him many times in the books. Notes and references # ↑ According to J.K. Rowling, Harry became the youngest Head of the Auror Office in 2007 at the age of 27. Scrimgeour, who 'was the Head of the Auror Office before becoming Minister for Magic cannot, therefore, be younger than twenty eight at the time he becomes Minister. # ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Chapter 8 (The Wedding) # ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6 3.7 3.8 Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, Chapter 1 (The Other Minister) # ↑ Quidditch Through the Ages - (Praise for Quidditch Through the Ages) # ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Chapter 7 (The Will of Albus Dumbledore) # ↑ 6.0 6.1 LEGO Harry Potter: Years 5-7 # ↑ Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, Chapter 3 (Will and Won't) # ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Chapter 7 (The Ministry of Magic) # ↑ Scrimgeour is a Scottish surname. # ↑ Bill Nighy plays Rufus Scrimgeour in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1 with a Welsh accent. # ↑ Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Chapter 3 (The Advance Guard) # ↑ Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, Chapter 7 (The Slug Club) # ↑ J. K. Rowling's Official Site - Rumours! # ↑ 14.0 14.1 14.2 14.3 Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, Chapter 16 (A Very Frosty Christmas) # ↑ 15.0 15.1 Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, Chapter 17 (A Sluggish Memory) # ↑ Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, Chapter 11 (Hermione's Helping Hand) # ↑ 17.0 17.1 17.2 Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, Chapter 30 (The White Tomb) # ↑ Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Chapter 1 (The Dark Lord Ascending) # ↑ 19.0 19.1 19.2 Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Chapter 11 (The Bribe) # ↑ 20.0 20.1 20.2 Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, Chapter 4 (Horace Slughorn) # ↑ Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Chapter 29 (Careers Advice) # ↑ HPL: Rufus Scrimgeour # ↑ "Bill Nighy as Rufus Scrimgeour for Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" at The Leaky Cauldron # ↑ "Up close: David Yates" Category:1997 deaths Category:Aurors Category:British ministers for magic Category:Heads of auror office Category:Students